BHUBANESWAR: People from the state capital, generally known to be of a quiet and sweet temperament, have not only been dismissive of the senior citizens in their family and society, but also disrespectful enough for 82 per cent of them to note that they feel severely slighted in daily life. The percentage, revealed in the latest report of a survey on elder abuse in India, is the highest among all the 23 cities in the country where it was conducted.The report, which comes a day before World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, was published by HelpAge India, a non-government organization, and was released on Thursday.During the survey, 82 per cent of the elderly people in Bhubaneswar admitted that their family members do not pay any respect to them. Younger persons do not pay heed to suggestions of the elderly in their everyday decision-making process. They do not care for the advice of the elderly, feel the latter. The extreme attention that is given to phones and computers by youngsters and adults is also disrespectful to elders.The survey on elder abuse had included male and female people aged more than 60 years. To figure out the extent of elder abuse in cities, it had taken into account six components like disrespect, physical abuse, verbal abuse, financial exploitation, unwelcome or forcible sexual contact and neglect.Besides disrespect, 22 per cent of the elderly in the temple city are beaten or slapped by family members or others, 29 per cent face verbal abuse, 31 per cent witness financial exploitation and 29 per cent get neglected in family and society. As many as 87 per cent of the elderly allege rampant prevalence of elder abuse in society.The report, shockingly enough, said 23 per cent of the senior citizens in Bhubaneswar confirmed that they have faced elder abuse. Even worse is the national average which is at 25 per cent.The top five cities which had a high percentage of elder abuse were Mangalore (47 per cent), Ahmedabad (46), Bhopal (39), Amritsar (35) and Delhi (33).Bharati Chakra, Odisha head of HelpAge India, said the report is an eye opener and it’s high time that everyone should start working towards a better society for the elderly. “The main perpetrators who abuse elders are sons and their spouses, we found,” said Chakra.Elderly people opined that they are mainly abused as their children lack resources to meet their financial needs and think of them as burdens. They also included the issue of property as another reason behind sustained abuse. The key reasons behind elderly not reporting abuse were to maintain confidentiality of family matters and not knowing how to proceed with such reports.To deal with elderly abuse effectively, the survey suggested that economic independence of the abused be increased, sensitize children be brought up and intergenerational bonding strengthened. It is also necessary to sensitize young adults, develop effective legal reporting and a redress system.

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